“Living
as Sheep” was preached at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church on May 7, 2017. Inspirations
for this sermon include Scripture, commentaries, children’s songs, and current
ecumenical events.
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10
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate
but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by
the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him,
and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them
out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the
sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a
stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of
strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not
understand what he was saying to them.
7 So
again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen
to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in
and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
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Living
as sheep… Christ our Shepherd calls us to live as sheep… but how do we do that?
I
want us all to quickly flip to Psalm 23 in our Pew Bibles. It’s found on page 501
in the Old Testament. Once you find it, bookmark it your bulletin or with your
check to the youth mission trip (see what I did there?). We’ll return to that
passage later in the sermon and read it as a prayer.
As
you find Psalm 23, I want to sing you this song that I think explains how we
can live as sheep. Mind you, it’s a children’s song but still the lyrics ring
true. It goes, “I just want to be a sheep: Baa, Baa, Baa, Baa. I just want to
be a sheep: Baa, Baa, Baa, Baa. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. I just want to
be a sheep: Baa, Baa, Baa, Baa.”
Never
imagined me up here singing, did you?
The
verses continue with lyrics such as “I don’t want to be a Pharisee… because
they’re not fair you see” and “I don’t want to be a Sadducee…. Because they’re
so sad you see.” And my personal favorite, “I don’t want to be a goat… nope,
nope, nope, nope.”
Don’t
you wish everything was an easy as a children’s song? But it’s not, is it? We
can’t just say we are sheep and therefore we are. No, in our own stubbornness
and discontentment and even more so, our exclusivity, we hold ourselves back.
And
truth be told, do any of us really want to live as sheep anyway? I mean, Christ
calls us to live as sheep which should make us want to, but let’s be realistic
for a moment. Sheep are fearful animals—not open to change, in need of
protection, and in search of a leader. And if we understand what that is
saying, it brings us to the question. Do we really want to be scared, timid,
weak, lost followers? Because our answer should be “Yes.” But I have to admit,
that’s a tough one.
On
top of all that, the passage found in John has Jesus telling us he is the gate.
Twice, he says, “I am the gate.” And to be honest, we all have our own
definitions of gates. We see them as walls and we see them as barriers; built
to keep things out. We see gates as a means to be guarded and therefore
exclusive. But we know the Gospel. We know that’s not what Jesus meant what he
said he is the gate. We cannot be an exclusive church; we are not called to be
an exclusive people.
This
past July, our Methodist brothers and sisters called and elected their first
openly gay Bishop Karen Oliveto, to serve their Western Jurisdiction. This
would be similar to a Moderator of our Presbytery but on a larger scale,
covering multiples states. However, roughly a week ago, in the midst of Easter
season and celebrating the resurrection of our risen Lord, the Methodist Court
Law in a 6-3 decision ruled that Bishop Oliveto was in violation of church law.
The
Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto who has faithfully served the Methodist Church since
1983 – that’s 34 years – and who has been with her same partner – her wife –
for seventeen years is up for suspension as Bishop and possibly removal from
her position because she has the courage to live as an openly gay woman. Her
call to serve God and the people of God is up for debate because people have
created a wall of exclusivity to keep her and others like her out of the
church. What kind of message does that send?
Now
I’m sure many of you know that LBGTQ ordination passed in our denomination –
The Presbyterian Church (USA) – back in 2011. But when this was allowed—when
this means of access was opened for additional people to serve the call of
God—churches responded by leaving the denomination and joining different
exclusive branches. This has left us divided.
And
this is not the first time this has happened either. When we as the PCUSA
allowed the ordination of women back in 1956—when we first opened a channel to
be more inclusive and to welcome more people in—churches responded by leaving
the denomination. And human-made gates were built. And over time, the gates we
as humankind built have become taller and tighter; more guarded, more
exclusive.
But
my friends, those are not the gates Jesus intended. That’s not the gate that
Jesus is. And unfortunately, the PCUSA denomination is not free from these
false gates. And neither is Sunnyside.
I
believe that Sunnyside has been trying to be a more inclusive community full of
hospitality and warmth. I believe that Sunnysiders try to be… well, as our name
suggests… Sunny. This has definitely been apparent since I started in my
position back in September. But I think all of us still get to a point as we
enter the unknown—as we make changes and start to feel uncomfortable—when we
meet someone who don’t understand—we shut down and we hide back behind our
walls and we build our gates back up… tighter and taller.
We
can’t deny this. When we think about politics and what our fellow Sunnysiders
believe; we build our gates. When we listen to controversial topics that we may
disagree with; we build our gates. When we navigate our relationships with the
other Presbyterian churches in the area and explore ways to best support them
as our brothers and sisters in Christ; we build our gates.
But
that’s why Christ makes it clear in John 10 that we are not the gate nor the
gatekeeper nor the shepherd. We are the sheep; Christ is the gate. Unlike our
own self-made gates which keep others out, Christ the gate is a means for us as
sheep to go out and find pasture. Yes, Christ promises that as the gate he will
be a guard and protector from thieves and bandits and wolves – from those who
mean to kill and destroy life abundant – that’s a promise.
But
more important, twice in John 10, first in verse 3 and then again in verse 9,
Christ tells us the reason he is the gate and the reason we are called to be
sheep is so that we have a channel to be led out into the world and find others
who are also called to live as sheep. Listen again, verse 3: “The gatekeeper
opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by
name and leads them out.” And verse 9: “I am the gate. Whoever enters by will
be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.”
See,
the purpose of the gate is not to keep others out. Not people we disagree with;
not people we don’t understand. Not women; not the LGBTQ community. No, the
purpose of Christ the gate is to be able to go through Christ and find others
and show them the same Gospel love that has been already be extended to us. Listen
to what Jesus says in verse 16: “I have other sheep that do not belong to this
fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will
be one flock, one shepherd.”
Our
role as sheep is to listen to the one voice that calls to us each by name. And
when we go out to find pasture—when we go out to find community, there is this
understanding that it can be uncomfortable and scary and at times tough. Because
life abundant doesn’t mean life so perfect. Life abundant is taking the bad
with the good with the promise of eternal life, hand-in-hand with sheep of all
over, of every time and place. Sheep who may be our friends. Sheep who may be
our enemies. Sheep who be similar to us and sheep who may be different. We are called
to be one flock; one people under one God.
I
challenge us all this week and in the weeks to come to be open to where God is
leading us out and where can find pasture. As we do this, as we allow ourselves
to be sheep, I want us to remember the prayer found in Psalm 23. Please open
your Bibles from earlier and join me in prayer; read along with me:
“1 The
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He
makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
3 he
restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with
me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head
with oil; my cup overflows.
6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall
dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”
I
love that. Our voices coming together in prayer. That’s the one flock Jesus
intended. But what if that flock grew and more people joined. Especially people
who have been excluded from the church. It would be like a beautiful,
harmonious melody to Christ’s ears.
My
friends, we are called to live as sheep. We have shepherd that guides us. A
shepherd whose roles as gate and gatekeeper is not meant to keep others out but
as a means for us to go out. Listen to the one voice that calls to you. Be open
to what it is saying and the open pasture it calls us all to find. That is life
abundant.
Thanks
be to God! Amen.
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